Reviewing BBC Four's Top Of The Pops 1976/77 repeats, and assorted business related to the show

Thursday, 8 March 2012

The disappeared: 3/3/77

The start of this year has been about fits and starts on the show, everything coming round plenty of times. That's the case with much of this second, Savile-fronted lost show of 1977.

Showaddywaddy – WhenThis, for example, is on twice more. No continuity jokes with suits or drums this time, though.

Mr Big – RomeoAnd this video with its classily of its time visual effects has been on before.

Maxine Nightingale – Love Hit MeOnce more in the studio, plus once danced to by Legs & Co for the Northern Soul tail-ender from the singer most famous for Right Back Where We Started From.

Boz Scaggs – What Can I SaySNL, Jeff Porcaro, I think we're across this video clip by now.

Cliff Richard – My Kinda LifeIt's Cliff. Of course he's on again.

Manhattan Transfer – Chanson D'AmourAnother video - a lot of them around this point, aren't there? - and it's about to have a number one run so it need not concern us quite yet.

David Bowie – Sound And VisionSo that's one performance in the entire show which isn't replicated and it's the most intriguing of the lot. That's largely because it's a Legs & Co routine, and we know what happened last time Flick was given Bowie to work with.

Abba – Knowing Me Knowing You...nope, still only on tape, and this is a future number one too.

Bonnie Tyler – More Than A LoverYes, she's still to come back as well, starting to become huskier and more AOR anthemic with it.

Leo Sayer – When I Need YouGet your hands out of your pockets, young man. Last week at number one, and he'll have another single on the show's radar before April is out.

16 comments:

Maybe I've got selective memory but, without hearing them, I don't remember either Maxine's or Bonnie's singles without cheating and resorting to YouTube, even though they both made the top 30.

Hugely disappointed we miss out on "Sound And Vision", as we only get two end-credit clips as rations. Talking of which, there's some uncertainty as to whether Boz Scaggs was the play-out track this week, as records recently showed two 'Legged' songs (Bowie and Boz)and no disc after Leo.

While I'm here, does this comments section give you the option to amend your comments after you've posted them? In the last thread, I meant to say we'd hit a record number of responses for one topic, but I missed the word 'record' out!

Its amazing how they had the foresight in 1977 to only wipe the shows that would otherwise have clashed with repeat showings of The Sky at Night on a channel that had yet to be launched - and some people have the impudence to call the 70's backwards.

Oh I just won't know what to do with myself tonight now - I hate it when Top of the Pops 1977 isn't on - and I can't understand a word dear old Patrick Moore says any more.

This particlar week's top 50 contained a real rag-bag of songs we never get to see in the chart countdown. Along with the 'already on TOTP' efforts by Kiki, Les and Sailor there were also not-quite-there entries for Barry White, Van McCoy, the collective that was Brass Construction, The Stranglers' first chart entry, and Ray Stevens performing "In The Mood" in the style of a coop full of chickens.

Given there's so few missing shows from now on in 1977 I don't get why BBC4 won't schedule the first showing at 8pm unedited, plugging up any gaps with Sounds Of The 60s/70s, Coast, whatever else. I know their line is 7.30 is the classic time, but I think people will forgive them.

"Hands out of your pockets, young man" - Cloughie to Trevor Francis, am I right?

Arthur and Noax - must say I'm disappointed in you both for not remembering "More Than A Lover"! Here's what I said over on Popular: "My reaction to "Total Eclipse..." is akin to standing alongside a monumental building – you admire it, you appreciate the ambition behind it and the work that’s gone into it, although somehow you don’t love it quite as much as the smaller buildings next door. One such is “More Than A Lover”, which I utterly adored and is high on my list of late 70s “shoulda been a monster” contenders. Warm, sexy, atmospheric and sadly stalled in the low 20s."

So many songs, so little time, and not as much brain retention as back then! I might give Maxine and Bonnie a listen over the weekend to freshen up, though I'm tempted to retain the surprise element for next Thursday.

On a related theme, I decided to go back and reappraise a song revered by some on this forum, Al Stewart's "Year Of The Cat". I didn't rate it back then 'cause I thought the singer sounded like Jonathan King and the song just rambled. After several 'taste tests' on YouTube last night - did you know the Italian version of the single's only about half the length and cuts out nearly all the instrumentals? - I found myself hooked and bought the 4:55 edit on iTunes.

the leo sayer hands-in-pockets thing has reminded me of the old dave allen gag:

a youth is up before the magistrate on a charge, standing slovenly in the box with his hands in his pockets whilst chewing gum - the beak is somewhat irritated by this disrespectful manner and orders him to stop masticating... so the youth removes his hands from his pockets!

SPOILER ALERT. If you don't want to know the score for the last comment, look away now...

Bad news, Vintage. We get The Motors in about six months' time, but we need BBC4 to continue showing the re-runs until next year for two of the acts you mentioned and a further year for XTC, who didn't debut until 1979. What's worse, one of the four wiped shows this year included the sole appearance of Television. If you can content yourself with The Jam and Elvis Costello, this year will bear fruit.

Here's a tip: New Wave is coming, you know it is, but in the meantime just enjoy what's on each show for its own merits! Around this time I was reading Sounds and Record Mirror, and enjoying their coverage of the new stuff that was still underground, while loving Bonnie Tyler and Racing Cars. Enjoy the variety while we wait... :)

I never threw a Record Mirror out for about five years, and when I had to (since my wardrobe was groaning under the weight) I leafed through them and compiled scrapbooks of the best articles and letters from 1975-80. Years later I was re-reading the scrapbooks and came across a letter published in mid-’76 saying: “I think the Sex Pistols are the most exciting band to emerge since the New York Dolls. Why don’t you feature them in Record Mirror? – Stephen Morrissey, Stretford, Manchester.”

Arthur, ErithianWith you on Record Mirror....and what a scoop that is regarding Mr 'Malvinas' Morrissey. Well done. When i got to University (manchester), i would buy it in the union building shop until several started to lay into me for not 'taking' the NME, Melody Maker (which i did like esp in its ink spilling garage covering broadsheet days) and the utterly insufferable Sounds. So i got a sub instead. Coward eh?

I also bought it for the charts but also because it covered a lot of punk/new wave(sans ridiculous pretentious essays that noone could fathom), disco and one bloke who wrote a lot about reo styx boston kansas foreigner speedwagon (geoff something). Yes i liked/like all that.

To prove the point about nme/sounds, a particularly unpleasant dour uncharismatic unfriendly (and thick) git from our school year would go on to write awful pretentious rambling essays about bugger all for them.

i too regularly took "record mirror" for several years from the late 70's - unlike "sounds" and co it actually had a section devoted to disco music (presented by DJ james hamilton, and every record had a BPM and was always described in such ways as "chugging", "juddering" and so on). however, probably in order to keep in with my rock-loving chums i also read sounds for several years, and whenever i could afford it also bought the "NME" and sometimes even "melody maker"!

rather strangely once i had got a bit older and supposedly more mature i started reading instead the brightly coloured pop mags of the early/mid 80's such as "smash hits" and "number one" - i kept all of them until the late-90's when i was forced to ditch them through penury and transient living circumstances (my parents refused to keep them in their loft as they said they were a fire hazard!)... i did try selling them but they were considered valueless at the time - of course many of them are now collector's item's, especially the likes of "the face" and "new sounds, new styles" that i also had a fair few copies of!